Nuclear medicine is a medical specialty where a radiopharmaceutical is introduced to a patient to identify and treat disease. The radiopharmaceutical causes the emission of photons from the body of the patient, and can concentrate in particular tissues of the body, indicating tissue metabolic activity at the site of concentration and emitting a higher amount of photons from the site of concentration. Images may be reconstructed from the photons observed during Positron Emission Tomography (PET).
In particular, a plurality of detectors of a PET system may be used to observe the photons that occur in a coincident event. The detectors are typically positioned in a ring formation, with the patient supported by a table and positioned within the ring. During manufacture, the detectors are permanently bonded in groups of detectors and then mounted in the ring formation. When a single detector unit of a group of detectors fails, the entire grouping is removed and replaced. This results in wasted materials and labor.